NOTES for Job 33:1-33

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¹Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.

²Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth.

³My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.

⁴The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

⁵If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up.

⁶Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay.

⁷Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.

⁸Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,

⁹I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.

¹⁰Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,

¹¹He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.

¹²Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.

¹³Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.

¹⁴For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.

¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;

¹⁶Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,

¹⁷That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

¹⁸He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain:

²⁰So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.

²¹His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.

²²Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.

²³If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:

²⁴Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.

²⁵His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth:

²⁶He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.

²⁷He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

²⁸He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.

²⁹Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man,

³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.

³¹Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak.

³²If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee.

³³If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.

Elihu begins his speech with a statement that places him under a serious obligation. He says to Job: I am a human being, just like you, but I will speak with you on God's behalf. God has given me knowledge, and I will be able to tell you what you want to hear from Him. But I am not God, and you have nothing to fear: you wanted God to speak with you as one person speaks with another; consider that He is doing this through me (vv. 1-7). What, then, does Elihu say to Job? He says: you are wrong in asserting your innocence, because God is above the human person, and He is not obligated to answer to anyone for anything (vv. 8-13). In essence, Elihu here repeats an argument Job has already heard many times from his friends. What new thing does Elihu want to tell Job, speaking, according to his own assertion, on God's behalf? He says: God is severe. He can warn a person through a dream (vv. 14-18), and if the person does not understand or does not accept such a revelation, then the next warning may be a grave, perhaps fatal, illness (vv. 19-22). And according to Elihu, one can then be saved from death only by a miracle; only intervention from above can help a person in such a situation (vv. 23-28).

Such a situation can be repeated in a person's life more than once, so Job has no reason to be surprised at what has happened to him (vv. 29-30). As one can see, Elihu essentially added nothing to what Job's friends had said to him. The main argument offered by Elihu in his speech had already been heard more than once: no one is clean before God, and He knows better when, whom, and how to punish or show mercy. Only the image of God changes, becoming severe and merciless. Elihu's God clearly appears as a fearsome accuser and judge. He punishes everyone without exception, which is not surprising, because no one is clean before Him. And if someone does manage to be saved from death, if this fearsome God does have mercy on someone, such mercy must be considered a true miracle. Ezekiel spoke on God's behalf, saying that God does not desire the death of the sinner; He wants the sinner to turn and live. Elihu, as one can see, asserts the exact opposite on God's behalf: God wants every sinner to suffer, and He delivers only a few chosen ones from suffering. Speaking this way, Elihu, perhaps without noticing it himself, showed Job God in exactly the way Job could not accept Him.

Other notes

For Job 33:1-33